World No1 Halep stunned in Sydney

WORLD No1 Simona Halep’s preparations for next week’s Australian Open suffered a huge setback on Wednesday when she was bundled out of the Sydney International at the first hurdle. The Romanian hadn’t played since withdrawing from the WTA Finals in October with a herniated disc, and was no match for fast-rising Australian Ashleigh Barty, who scored the biggest win of her career 6-4, 6-4. Halep, the reigning French Open champion and 2018 Australian Open runner-up, had a bye through to the second round, meaning she heads to Melbourne Park for the opening Grand Slam of the year with just one game under her belt. “It was a great match after almost four months [since the last one]. I think I played a good level of tennis but I had no inspiration in some important points,” she said. “She played really well and deserved to win.”